The Scars that Bond
by kdkad
Summary: Danielle Clayton has lived in Australia since she was three years old. Eleven years later, Voldemort catches up with her parents and kills them. Now she's living with the Malfoys and has to attend Hogwarts where she meets a certain trio of friends..
1. Chapter 1

The Scars that Bond

The day had been perfect. Nothing had gone wrong, so there was no reason to think that anything would go wrong that night in the Australian Outback. But as a couple drew their last breaths, the only thing they wanted was for their daughter to be safe. Elizabeth and Sam Clayton gave their lives trying to protect their fifteen-year-old daughter, Danielle, but the wizard was going to kill her as well. He pointed his wand at her, muttered the incantation, and something red flashed, and she felt as if there were knives cutting her everywhere. As the wizard left laughing, Danielle screamed at the top of her lungs before every thing went black.

Danielle woke from her dream with sharp pains all down her body. She looked down her body and grimaced at all of the new scars. _I look like I was attacked by a pack of dingos, _she thought cynically, and it was true. She even had what could have been seen as a bite mark on her shoulder, but of course that wasn't what really happened. If it was, the parents might still be alive. The murder of her parents happened three months ago, but the image was still freshly imprinted in her brain. She knew it always would be. After her parents' death, Danielle had to move to her aunt and uncle's house in London, England. She had actually been born in London, but her parents moved her to Australia when she was only three years old. Her parents told her it was because they wanted her to be safe, but she couldn't see why they thought the Australian Outback, an oven of a country full of Dingos, poisonous snakes, and sharks, safe. She never really found out the true reason. She loved living there; she just wanted the truth. When Danielle turned twelve, she began attending the Kakirra Wizardry School in Sydney. She had just finished her two year there and was home for summer holidays when her parents were killed.

So now she was back in London living with her aunt, uncle, and they too had magic and treated her well, but Danielle hated them. Danielle knew her aunt and uncle were up to something evil, and their son wanted to be a part of it! They had house-elves doing everything for them, yet they never treated them well. Danielle hated it and refused the elves' service—except for one elf. Even their name sounded evil: Malfoy.

Danielle had just finished brushing her hair when her favorite house-elf, Wobbly, popped into her bedroom. "Miss, Danielle," the house**-**elf said as he bowed, "there is a Professor Dumbledore here for you, miss."

Danielle turned and smiled at the little creature. "Thank you, Wobbly," she replied kindly. The elf smiled brightly at her appreciation. "Will you please tell him that I will be right there, and could you please meet me up here when I return?"

"Of course, Miss Danielle," Wobbly said, and bowed again before disappearing.

Danielle quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, donned a light jacket to cover her scarred arms, and slipped on a pair of flip-flops. She then dashed down the stairs and outside to the terrace where her guest was waiting. As she walked outside she saw an elderly man with long white hair and a matching beard smiling at her. "Hello, Miss Clayton, my name is Albus Dumbledore**.** I am the Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I am here to talk to you about attending our fine school this year."

Danielle smiled brightly at that. "Oh, that would be wonderful, sir, but I do have a couple of questions," the professor nodded, gesturing for her to continue. "Will I have to start as a first year? You see, sir, I've already completed two years at my old school, but if I have to—"

She stopped short when the professor held up his hand to stop her. "No, you will not have to repeat your first year; you will be with your own year. Oh, and may I add my deepest sympathies; I am so sorry to hear about your parents…"

"You knew my parents?" Danielle asked immediately.

Dumbledore smiled warmly. "Yes, very well. They went to Hogwarts in my early years as headmaster. Your father was in my office more than I was." He laughed lightly, but he saw Danielle's eyes sparkle with tears as she smiled. "Your mother was always in the library or with your father. She wasn't like your relatives here. Elizabeth was in Gryffindor, but your relatives were all in Slytherin."

Danielle smiled before looking down. "I never knew that about them," she said as a few tears slid down her face.

Dumbledore gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Were there any other questions you wanted me to answer?"

Nodding, Danielle wiped her eyes before looking back at him. "Yes, sir, just one. How will I know which house I will be in? Will I just be put in my cousin, Draco's house?"

Dumbledoresmiled at her again. "Not to worry, my dear. That is the only thing you will have in common with the first years. You will have to be sorted into one of our four houses: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor."

"Thank you so much, Professor, for your help." Danielle stated with obvious relief.

Dumbledorenodded, no longer smiling. "Of course, Miss Clayton, but I am afraid I must ask you something."

"Anything, Professor," Danielle replied respectfully.

"Is there anything you might be able to tell me about your parents death? Who might have killed them perhaps?" Dumbledore asked gently.

Danielle's eyes narrowed at the memory of her parents' murderer. "I know exactly who murdered them; I couldn't possibly forget those blood red eyes," she said, nearly growling at the memory. "Voldemort killed them. There were two others there, but they did nothing, and I don't know who they are."

Professor Dumbledore placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Things will be very different for you here, Miss Clayton. There has only been one other person who has faced Voldemort and lived, and I'm sorry to say that it has given him some unwanted attention. I hope that with your similar traumas you two will become friends."

Danielle nodded. "But, sir, how will I know who he is?"

Dumbledore smiled gently but evaded the question with an odd question. "Curses leave very unique scares wouldn't you say?"

Danielle then noticed that her jacket had slipped off her shoulder, and her scar that looked like a dingo bite was showing. She immediately covered it and looked down, embarrassed of the scars that now marred her body because of Voldemort. The professor's question confused her, butshe thought it best not to ask about it.

"Well, I really must be going. It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Clayton." He gave her another warm smile and took his hand from her shoulder. "and I look forward to seeing you this coming September."

"It was nice to meet you, too, Professor," she called to his retreating back. As the door closed, Danielle remembered that she needed to speak with Wobbly. She ran up the stairs to her room and summoned the little elf.

"Miss Danielle called Wobbly?" he askedwhen he appeared in her room.

"Yes, Wobbly. I wanted to tell you, before I ask Uncle Lucius, that I want you to be my personal house-elf. I know how Uncle Lucius treats you, and I promise that I would never treat you that way. If I could free you I would, but Uncle Lucius would kill me. Would that be okay if you were my house-elf?" Danielle asked.

The little house-elf began to cry. "Wobbly would love to be Miss Danielle's house-elf. Miss Danielle is nice to Wobbly; Wobbly likes Miss Danielle."

"Awww..." Danielle cooed, "I like you too, Wobbly, and I just wanted to go over a few things with you. First, there are only a few things that I don't want you to touch: my wand and my things in the bathroom. Anything else you can do what you wish with it. Second, the only thing I will ever command of you is that you never punish yourself if you feel that you failed or made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes; even little house-elves like you," Danielle smiled at Wobbly's sniffling laugh. "And lastly, other than what I just went over, I will never order or command you to do anything; I don't do that. I ask politely."

Wobbly nodded his head vigorously. "Wobbly knows. That's why Wobbly likes Miss Danielle."

Danielle brought up the subject later that day when she and her relatives were eating dinner. "Uncle Lucius, I was wondering if it would be alright if I took Wobbly on as my own personal house-elf?" she asked timidly.

"Well, that would be wonderful," her uncle replied with a smile that looked fake to Danielle, but then again, she'd never actually scene him smile for real. "I am so glad that you've changed your mind. Narcissa has just been dying to send one of the creatures up there to help you clean that room, but I told her that we needed to respect your wishes."

Danielle found herself having to force a smile and laughed dryly. "Thank you, oh, and I will need to get my school supplies-"

"Yes, that's right," Uncle Lucius interrupted. "Yes, I think I will reserve you a room for at the most extravagant inn in Diagon Alley-"

"Actually," Danielle interrupted, looking at him apologetically, not wanting to anger him, "I was hoping that maybe I could choose which inn I stay at..."

This time there was no question that her uncle's smile was fake. "Of course. Any one you choose would be perfect..."

Danielle's smile was becoming harder and harder to maintain. "Well, I was looking at some, and I found one that I liked."

"Wonderful," Uncle Lucius replied immediately. "Just tell me which one it is, and I'll reserve a room for you for in about three weeks. Does that sound good? You can have a week to shop for your things and anything else you could want."

"Sure, that sounds great," Danielle said; this time she had a genuine smile. "Well, the one I chose was the Leaky Cauldron. It doesn't cost much, and I really don't need to stay in an extremely lavish room. It's not like I'll be in it very much."

While she was explaining this to him, she could see his fake smile slowly disappear from his face. "Are you sure?" he asked incredulously. "I want nothing but the best for my little niece."

_What a liar, _Danielle thought but didn't voice it. Her smile again became forced. "I'm sure, Uncle Lucius."

"Well, then I can't say no can I?" her uncle asked sarcastically.

***

Three weeks later, Danielle Flooed into the Leaky Cauldron in London."Hello, Lucius Malfoy reserved a room for me here," she said as she stopped at the front desk.

"And what was your name, Miss?" asked Tom, the innkeeper.

"Danielle Clayton," she answered and watched him as he searched for her name in his books.

Tom smiled at her when he found it. "Ah, yes, Miss Clayton. Room twelve, right this way."

Danielle followed Tom up the stairs and down a long hallway until they reached room twelve. It was a simple room with a bed, a desk and chair, and a wardrobe. There was a small window with a not-so-great view of the Muggle city outside, but she didn't care what kind of room she had; she just couldn't wait to go to Diagon Alley. Almost immediately after setting down her things she left and went downstairs in search of Tom.

"Tom," she said when she found him. "I need to go to Diagon Alley, but I've never been there. Do you think you could show me how to get there?"

Tom smiled. "Of course, miss, follow me."

Danielle smiled her appreciation and followed Tom around to the back door which seemed to lead to a brick wall. Tom drew his wand, and Danielle's hand instinctively went to hers in her jeans pocket. "All you have to do is tap your wand on these bricks like this." He tapped his wand gently on nine bricks in a counterclockwise motion. Then all of then began shifting and moving until before her stood the giant archway that was the entrance to Diagon Alley. "Enjoy your day in Diagon Alley, Miss Clayton," Tom said before walking back inside.

"Thanks, Tom!" she yelled after him.

Danielle began walking down the cobblestone street, turning her head back and forth and taking in all the sights. They had a place like this in Sydney, but it wasn't nearly this extravagant. For the first few days, all she did was walk around Diagon Alley looking in all of the shops and stores. Things were so much different here than they were Down Under. There, people had to be more discrete, but here, no one was discrete; people were wearing wizards' robes and almost no muggle clothes could be found. It wasn't like that in Australia. While there was a place like this in Sydney, it was sort of out in open; witches and wizards had to be careful of just who was in the stores otherwise they risked exposure.

The day before she had to leave, Danielle decided that it was time for her to get her school supplies. The first store she passed was a bookstorenamed Flourish and Blotts, and she immediately walked in. Danielle simply loved books, and upon entering the shop, her eyes lit up at what she saw. There were stacks of books spiraling upward until they touched the cieling. There were so many shelves crammed with books that she lost count. Some books were floating from one shelf to the other, and she giggled at the few people who were chasing them around the dug into her pocket for her school book list. After finding all but one of her books, Danielle looked for books that looked interesting for her to read in her spare time, and she came across one named Advanced Defensive Spells and she went through just a few months ago, she thought the book would be an excellent read. As she reached for it, another hand reached for it as well. Danielle looked sideways at the person and saw a girl that looked abouther age withslightly bushy light brown hair. Her cheeks were dusted with a few freckles and she had warm cinnamon brown eyes that were looking at Danielle curiously.

"Er... hi, I'm Danielle Clayton," Danielle stammered nervously.

"Erm, hello, I'm Hermione Granger," the girl replied, equally nervous.

"Um, can you maybe help me? It's my first time in Diagon Alley, and I don't know where to get all of my school supplies," Danielle inquired.

"Oh, you go to Hogwarts? You don't look like first year..." Hermione stated curiously.

Danielle smiled at her. "I'm not, actually; I'm going to be a third year. I just transferred here from the Kakirra Wizardry School in Sydney, Australia."

"No way! That's so cool! I've always wanted to meet someone who goes to another school like Hogwarts," Hermione seemed to have lost all of her nervousness and was talking very excitedly.

"Well, now you have," Danielle smiled and shook Hermione's hand. "Er, do you think you could help me find this book? I've looked everywhere for it."

Hermione didn't even need to look at Danielle's book list to know which one she was talking about. "Oh, you need The Monster Book of Monsters, don't you?" Danielle nodded. "They have it in the back; you have to ask for it. Just go up to the desk, ask for the book, and they'll go back and get it."

Danielle nodded her thanks and walked up to the front desk with Hermione following behind her. She asked the woman at the front desk for the book, and she heard the woman grumbling quietly as she grabbed a pair of thick gloves and went to the back room to retrieve the book. When the woman returned with the book, Danielle noticed that her shirt looked rumpled and her sleeves were slightly torn. Danielle had to keep from laughing as she knew that the book had done this to her. She paid for the book and thanked the woman before looking at the book. To say it looked ghastly was an understatement. It was like the book was alive, and in fact it was. The book was covered in fur, and when Danielle looked closer, she saw that it had eight eyes on the cover, and the thing had teeth! The only thing keeping it from biting her arm off was a thin red leather strap.

"You know, I wonder how you're supposed to open it," Hermione thought out loud. "When I tried, it came alive and tried to bite me."

Deciding that it was better to show her rather than tell her, Danielle began stroke the spine of the book. By the third time, the leather strap unbuckled itself, and the book opened. Hermione stared wide-eyed at the open book. "Whoa, how did you know to do that?" she asked.

Danielle stopped flipping through the book and looked at the Hermione sadly. "I used to have this book back in Australia. When my... er... when I moved here I couldn't bring it with me. Actually, I couldn't bring any of my books..."

As she said this, Danielle grabbed the book she'd been looking at earlier and handed it to Hermione. She grabbed the one that appeared behind it, and they once again walked to the front desk to purchase the books before leaving Flourish and Blotts. Hermione was silent for a few minutes. "Why didn't your parents let you bring your books with you?" she asked timidly while watching Danielle's reaction.

Danielle stayed quiet for a while as she tried to keep from crying. "We... erm... I had to leave rather quickly," she answered finally.

Hermione walked in front of her and made her stop. She looked directly into Danielle's eyes. "Danielle, erm, did something happen to your parents?"

Danielle looked away from her before answering. "Yeah," she whispered, and then looked back at Hermione, "They were killed... four months ago. We were out on a hike in the bush one arvo a few months ago. It was really hot that day, so we made sure to sent up camp by a billabong. We made a huge bush telly that night; it attracted heaps of bities. It also attracted a pack of dingos. My parents loved to do things the muggle way, so they didn't have their wands on them. When the pack attacked, we had no chance. They attacked my parents first. When they saw me, some of them broke off to get me. I'm just glad I had my wand or else I don't know what would've happened." Danielle hated lying, but no one would believe the truth. "I spent two weeks in St. Mungos.

Hermione had a look of horror on her face. Though she didn't understand some of the slang Danielle was using, she didn't need to to understand just what happened. "Oh, that's horrible. I'm so sorry about that."

Danielle gave her a sad apologetic smile. "It's okay, Hermione."

"You know," Hermione started, "you have something in common with my best friend, Harry. His parents were killed when he was a baby, but it was You-Know-Who that killed them. He would've killed Harry, too, but his parents' sacrfice saved him. In our first year, You-Know-Who came back and possessed our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor; he was after the Scorcerer's Stone, but Harry stopped him.

"Then in our second year, he possessed our friend, Ginny, and forced her to release a Basilisk onto all of the Muggle-borns in the school. He then kidnapped her into the Chamber, but Harry and her older brother, Ron, went in to save her. There was a cave-in, though, and Harry and Ron were separated. When Harry finally found her, she was nearly dead, and the memory of You-Know-Who was sucking the life out kof her to make himself real. He made the Basilisk attack Harry, and I doubt that he would have survived very long had Professor Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes not blinded it and brought him Godric Gryffindor's sword. Harry killed the monster, but not before getting stabbed in the arm by its fang. Harry took that fang and stabbed the diary with it, making You-Know-Who vanish and giving Ginny back her strength. Harry was dying, though, from the venom of the Basilisk, and wouldn't have made it if Fawkes hadn't cried into his wound-"

"Of course, phoenix tears have healing powers," Danielle interrupted absently. She was terrified when Hermione said that her uncle had been involved in that evil plot. _What is she going to think when she finds out that I'm not only related to him but living with him? _she thought worriedly, but she couldn't help but think about all of the horrible things this Harry kid had gone through. She now knew that he was the boy that Professor Dumbledore had told her about. "Wow, it's horrible that he went through all of that," she said as she brought herself from her thoughts. "My parents were a part of the resistance against Voldemort when I was a baby, but they left with me right before the end of the war. I always thought they would tell me those stories to scare me..." Danielle was struggling not to cry. _I should've helped them. I should have done something! _Even as she thought this, the rational part of her brain knew that if she had, she would have died with them.

Hermione noticed her inner struggle and gave her a friendly hug. "I'm so sorry that I brought all of these memories up. It wasn't my place."

Danielle sniffled and wiped away her unshed tears before looking up at her and giving her a small smile. "It's okay, Hermione. I would've had to talk about it sooner or later."

"So do you live with relatives?" Hermione inquired.

Danielle nodded absently. "Yeah, I live with my aunt, uncle, and cousin..."

Hermione was silent for a while as they continued walking down the streets of Diagon Alley. As she looked from Danielle to the street in front of her, she couldn't help but notice how much Danielle and Harry had in common. She decided to voice this thought to see what Danielle thought about it. "I don't know, Hermione," Danielle said in response. "I mean I've never defeated a Dark Lord, and I've never saved anyone's life."

"Yes, but think about it," Hermione said, trying to get Danielle to see what she was thinking. "I mean both of your parents were killed, and you both have weird scars from almost dying yourselves. Plus, if you're reading Advanced Defensive Spells and Charms, then you must be good at Defense Against the Dark Arts; that's Harry's best subject." Hermione used her intuition to guess Danielle's talents.

Danielle had to admit that she and this Harry kid did have a lot in common. After Hermione showed her where to get the rest of her school supplies, they decided to go to the ice cream shoppe for some treats. At around seven in the evening, Danielle told Hermione that she needed to go back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Oh, you're staying there, too? What room are you in?" Hermione asked.

"Erm, I think I'm in room twelve," Danielle answered as she tried to remember correctly.

"Cool, I'm right down the hall from you. Oh, I can't wait for you to meet Harry and Ron. You're going to love them," Hermione exclaimed, very excited. "I mean Ron can be a dolt sometimes, but once you get to know him-well he can still be a dolt then too. Well he has his moments when he can be okay."

Danielle laughed at Hermione's description but was nervous about meeting them. While she had no doubt that she would like them, she had no idea how they would feel about her. With all of the trouble her relatives had given them, what reason would they have to think that she was any different? When Hermione and Danielle returned to the Leaky Cauldron, she immediately retreated upstairs to her room saying that she was tired. Hermione in turn went in search of her friends.

"Hey, Hermione, who was that?" Harry asked, looking toward the stairs that Danielle had just ascended.

"Her name is Danielle, and she just transferred to Hogwarts from Australia. She seems pretty smart and from what little I can tell, she also seems like a good person..." Hermione paused for a second before repeating what she had said to Danielle earlier that day. "You know, Harry, you and she have a lot in common..."

Harry highly doubted this, but he decided to hear her out because she was rarely ever wrong. "How so, Hermione?"

"Well her parents were killed this summer, and she has scars from the attack on her life. Now she has to live with her relatives because of it. And from what I can tell, she seems to be really good in Defense Against the Dark Arts." Hermione finished.

Harry stood there in silence. This girl really did have a lot in common with him, and now he couldn't help but want to meet her. Both he and Ron were just in silent amazement until Ron muttered, "Bloody hell."

"What really surprised me was that she didn't seem to recognize you when I mention what happened to your parents. I thought she would have at least recognized your name when I mentioned it, but she didn't seem to." Hermione added, pulling Harry from his thoughts.

When Harry went to bed that night, all he could think about was Danielle. How could this one girl have so much in common with him? And why were common things between them things that he never thought he would have in common with somebody? Plus, it would be nice to meet someone who knew nothing of his fame and could get to know the real him. Would he meet her tomorrow on the train?

In the next room, Danielle was thinking of Harry and what Hermione had told her about him. She couldn't believe that a single person could go through that much in his lifetime and not go completely insane. She hoped to meet him on the train...


	2. Chapter 2

Bushy brown hair was what Danielle looked for at Platform 9 3/4 the next morning. She searched for Hermione until she only had five minutes to be on the train, hoping that if she found her she could see Harry. Neither of them were seen by her, so she finally decided to put her trunk on the storage car and got on the train. As she walked through the train, Danielle noticed almost every compartment was fully. It was when she finally found one that wasn't full that she found Hermione. She also saw three other guys with her; two looked to be her age while the other, who was sleeping, was much older.

Danielle hesitantly opened the door and stuck her head in. "Hey, Hermione, do you mind if I sit with you? All of the other compartments are full..."

"Of course," Hermione said happily and turned to the others. "You guys, this is Danielle, the girl I told you about last night," she told them as Danielle walked in and sat beside her. Hermione pointed first to the redhead sitting directly across from her. "This one here is Ron, and that's Harry," she then pointed to the black-haired boy across from Danielle.

Danielle waved to them both, "G'day. Who's that?" she asked pointing at the sleepling man.

"That's Professor R.J. Lupin," Hermione answered, and they fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"So tell us about yourself, Danielle." Harry asked.

"Well my name is Danielle Clayton. I'm a third year, and I just transferred here from Kakirra Wizardry School in Sydney, Australia. I live in London with my aunt and uncle," this was said with nearly no emotion.

"What about your parents?" as soon as those words left Ron's mouth, Hermione stomped down hard on his foot to shut him up.

Danielle saw this and gave a ghost of a smile. "It's okay, Hermione. My parents died a few months ago," her face gave away nothing but her eyes showed her nervousness as she looked toward Hermione. "Hermione, could I talk with you outside the compartment?"

The three teenagers all gave her a weird look. "Er sure, Danielle," Hermione answered quietly. The two of them stepped outside the compartment and out into the hall. Hermione was staring curiously at Danielle while said young witch just stared nervously at the floor. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?"

Danielle sighed and looked up at Hermione. "Hermione... there's something I need to tell you..." she began quietly. "My relatives...erm...well they're not the nicest people in the world. They've done horrible things to you and your friends..."

"What are you talking about, Danielle?" Hermione asked, confused. "The only people who've ever done anything horrible to us are the..." realization finally dawned on her. "No, Danielle please tell me you're not related to the Malfoys.."

Danielle sighed once again and looked down at her shoes. "I really wish I could, Hermione. I know they're horrible, and I would understand if you didn't want me anywhere near Harry..."

Hermione stepped closer to Danielle, making her look back up to her wearily. "But you're not like them.."

Danielle laughed cynically. "And how can you be so sure? What if they sent me to get inside information on the great Harry Potter?" she asked angrily.

"Well, I honestly don't think you'd be a good liar to do that," Hermione said calmly.

_I wish that were true,_ Danielle thought as she hung her head. "I just thought you should know.."

Hermione nodded and smiled softly. "I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me. Are you going to tell Ron and Harry?"

"Yes, but not yet. Give me a few weeks to get to know them, okay?" Danielle asked pleadingly.

Hermione nodded and hugged her knew friend. "Come on, lets get back inside. There's no telling what they think we're talking about," she said to lighted the mood. Danielle smiled and nodded before following Hermione back into the compartment. There was an awkward silence as they sat down. It was finally broken when the woman pushing the sweets trolley came by asking them if they would like anything to eat. Harry got up and seemed to by some of everything. When he sat back down, he placed the sweets on the seat beside him, and Ron, Hermione, and he all grabbed something from the large pile. Danielle guessed that this was tradition for them

"Would you like some, Danielle?" Harry offered, gesturing towards the candy.

Danielle looked at him and smiled. "Oh no, that's okay. Please don't take this wrong, but I just don't like it when others buy things for me," _that didn't come out right,_ she thought immediately. "I mean this is a tradition for you, Ron, Hermione--I don't want to intrude on that..."

Hermione covered her mouth as she swallowed a bite of her pumpkin pasty. "Danielle, you know that's no true..."

Danielle smiled sheepishly to the three of them. "I just don't feel right taking it..."

"Just take one, please?" Harry gave her a puppy dog face.

Danielle chuckled at his antics and sighed before picking up a chocolate frog. She made a point of giving him an 'Are you happy now?' look to which he just smiled. They then fell into easy conversation, and although Danielle was glad for this, she hated leaving out important information about herself.

Harry noticed something out of place about Danielle. There was something she was not telling them, and when he caught her gaze, he thought he could see fear flicker through it. She intrigued him, though. There was an air about her that just drew him to her. There was nothing outstandingly beautiful about her; she was actually quite average. Shoulder-length wavy dark blonde hair, athletically built body, not particularly tall or short. Danielle's eyes were what captivated him. They were a smoky hazel that seemed to guard her emotions from everyone, but there were times where they were so clear he could see every emotion running through them. He didn't realize how much he was studying her until she gave him a look that asked 'Why are you staring at me?' He just shrugged and looked out the window for a while, but he was soon stealing glances at her again.

Their easy conversation was cut short when the train lurched to a screeching halt about halfway to Hogwarts. "What's going on? We can't be there yet..." Hermione thought aloud.

"Dunno," Harry responded. "Maybe we've broken down." This appeased them, but they all knew it wasn't true.

There was suddenly another lurch as if something had rammed the train, and the air around them grew freezing cold. Unknown to them, someone had just boarded the train, or rather something. They heard a noise coming from outside their compartment and looked toward the door. Something was coming towards them.

From where she was sitting in their compartment, Danielle could clearly see two figures walking--well more like floating--towards the compartment they were in. Automatically she reached for her wand and prepared herself to face whatever was coming for them. Waiting for them to come closer, she tried to think of a spell to repel the creatures, but first she had to figure out just what they were.

As the figures came closer, Danielle finally got a clear look at what the creatures were. _Oh my God. They're dementors!_ she screamed in her mind. She knew exactly what spell she needed to use. Standing at the door, her wand was at the ready and she was ready to do what she had to.

"Danielle, what do you think you're doing? You can't face these things!" Hermione exclaimed.

Danielle briefly looked at her from over her shoulder. "Watch me," she whispered.

Harry stood and grabbed her wrist. "Don't.."

"I have to, Harry," she said just above a whisper. "Our only other hope of stopping these dementors is in a drunken sleep--judging by how much is gone from that bottle of firewiskey. I'm the only one here who knows the spell to get rid of these things," she said knowingly.

Harry nodded and let go of her while Hermione desperately tried to wake the sleeping professor. Danielle thought of her happiest memory and raised her wand as two dementors entered their compartment. Unknown to her, the professor was finally waking.

Danielle held her memory in her head as leveled her wand toward the dementors. "Expecto Patronum!" she yelled.

The spell immediately drove away the first dementor, but as the second one drew closer, the thought of her parents death entered her mind. This made her spell considerably weak and begin to fade. Most of her happiest memories were of her and her parents. Her Patronus dissipated into nothingness as the second dementor continued to advanced on her. What happened next she couldn't really explain, but it felt as if her soul was being ripped form her body. In reality, that's basically what was happening. The last thing she saw before fainting was Professor Lupin performing the Patronus Charm.

***

While Danielle was unconscious, she had a vision of her parents. "Mum? Dad? Is it really you?"

"Yes, sweety, it's really us," her mother's soothing voice reached her ears.

Danielle choked back a sob as she ran towards her parents' open arms. She hugged them tightly as she sobbed into their shoulders. "I miss you guys so much," Danielle croaked out.

"We miss you too, baby," her dad whispered back.

"But you know, honey," her mother started, pulling back slightly to look at her daughter, "you can't let our death keep you from living your life. Honey, you need to know something."

Danielle looked curiously at her mother. "What is it, Mum?"

Her mother look to her husband for assistance. "Darlin', we know that everything you've ever known has changed in just a few months, but it was our time to go, and we went the way that all parents want to go; protecting their little girl. We'd do it again if we could, darlin', we want you to know that," her dad added.

"And we'll always be with you right here," her mother continued as she put her hand over Danielle's heart, "forever," she added.

"Your mum's right. But d'ya know what you need to do right now?" her father asked to which Danielle shook her head. "You need to wake up and live your life to the fullest."

Danielle chuckled and hugged her father. "You always were so corny, Dad," she said as she hugged her mother as well. She the closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she noticed three things. One: she was back on the train. Two: the train was moving again, that was a good thing. Third: there were four worried faces hovering over her. "Is everyone okay?"

"We're all fine, but are you, Danielle?" Hermione answered.

Danielle nodded and tried to sit up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Did any of you faint?"

"I did," Harry spoke up as he stepped into her view. He helped her sit up when he saw that she was struggling.

Danielle was about to say something when the professor beat her to the punch. "And it could've been worse had you not produced the Patronus Charm. I am Professor Lupin, and I am astounded that you were able to perform that spell."

"Thank you, Professor..." Danielle said, thinking of his name. It was so familiar. Then it hit her. "Lupin, as in Remus Lupin?"

"Yes..." he answered.

"Oh, you're one of my father's friends. You went to school with him. Sam Clayton, do you remember him?" she asked hopefully.

Lupin chuckled and smiled brightly. "How could I forget? He was one of my best friends in school along with Harry's father, James." Professor Lupin couldn't stop that last statement from coming out, and he immediately regretted it.

Harry's head snapped up at the mention of his father. Danielle looked over at him; now she knew why his name sounded familiar. When her parents told her of their school years, they always talked about their best friends James, Lily, and Remus. Her parents nearly always mentioned James and Lily's son as well, who she now remembered was Harry. She suddenly felt sorry for him. She'd known her parents her entire life; he'd never had the chance to do that with his parents.

Professor Lupin noticed the discomfort on the teenagers faces felt responsible. He cleared his throat. "Here, eat this," he handed them both a piece of chocolate. "It will help you feel better." he said before exiting the compartment.

"What were those things?" Ron asked after a moment.

"Dementors," said Danielle absently. "They're guards from Azkaban; horrible creatures. They're drawn to positive human emotions, and they feed on them. If you stay around one for too long, you become just like them--soul-less and evil. They leave you with only your worst experiences."

"If it makes you relive your worst memory, then how come I only heard a woman scream?" a confused Harry asked.

Danielle sighed. "My guess is that it was...erm...that it was your mum....the night she died. You probably didn't see anything because you were too young to remember seeing anything from that event."

Harry was silent for a long time. There was one thing bothering Hermione though. "Where did you learn that spell? From Professor Lupin's reaction, it must be a really advanced spell."

Danielle smiled softly for a moment. "My dad taught it to me. He and my mum would teach me some of the things I would need to know the next school year. Mum would teach me Potions, Transfiguration, and Herbology. Dad taught me to fly, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures. They both would teach me Defense Against the Dark Arts. A lot of it really hard, but things like flying and Care of Magical Creatures were so much. We usually spent extra time doing those. Well that, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, but they always thought I needed to know more of that. I loved it when they taught me; they made it fun." she smiled at the fond memories.

"Can you teach me that spell?" Harry's question pulled Danielle from her memories.

Danielle laughed sheepishly. "I can try. I can't promise I'd be a very good teacher."

As they got closer to the Hogsmeade train station, they decided to change into their robes. They took a blanket from Hermione's trunk and hung it across the middle of the cabin. The boys waited patiently as the girls changed, and the girls did the same for the boys. After all four teenagers were finished changing and the blanket was back in Hermione's trunk, the train began slowing to a stop. This time it was at the train station in Hogsmeade.

"Come on, Danielle! We don't want to be late for the feast." Hermione exclaimed as they hurried off the train and towards a long row of carriages. As the four teens sat in a carriage together, Hermione was filling Danielle in on all of the classes she could take at Hogwarts. Danielle was only half listening though. She was busy worrying over what house she would be placed in.

The Great Hall was enormous; it was as big as half of her old school. There were four long tables going the length of the room, and she guessed that students in certain houses had to sit at certain tables. "Where should I go?" she asked Hermione.

Hermione looked around. "I dunno. I guess you should just sit with us until Professor Dumbledore calls you to be sorted."

When all the students were seated, Professor Dumbledore stood behind an ornately decorated podium and called for silence. "Before we sort the first years, I'd like to make an announcement. We have been privileged to have a student transfer here from Australia. Come up here and get sorted into your house, Miss Clayton."

Danielle stood and nervously walked up towards the front of the Great Hall. Up there was an aging woman in a forest green cloak holding a battered and wrinkled old hat. "Just stand right there and face the students," she instructed. "I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and it will place you in your house."

Danielle nodded as the woman placed the old hat on her head. Everything in the hall was quiet for a minute. "You are a difficult one, child," the hat spoke. "You seem to have characteristics that all of the Founding Four would want in their houses. Gryffindor's courage, Ravenclaw's cleverness, Hufflepuff's compassion, and Slytherin's cunning. Your pure blood makes you a fine candidate for Slytherin, but you don't seem to care about blood lines. Hmmm you are difficult, child..." the hat was quiet for a moment. "GRYFFINDOR!!!" it shouted suddenly.

The entire room erupted with applause; most of it was coming from the Gryffindor table. The witch who had put that hat on her in the first place now took it off and smiled. "Welcome to to Hogwarts, Miss Clayton. I am Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House."

Danielle nodded and headed back to her place beside Hermione, and they fell into an animated conversation. That was until two red-headed boys grabbed Hermione's attention. "Oi, Hermione, is she your cousin?" they asked simultaneously.

Hermione and Danielle look at each other for a moment before bursting into fits of laughter. "No, we only met yesterday. Why do you ask?" Hermione asked through giggles.

"Well, you two do look like you could be related," Harry spoke up.

Danielle smirked at him for a split second before turning to Hermione with a serious look on her face. "Hermione, there's something I need to tell you," Hermione gave her a confused look. "I'm your long lost cousin!"

Everyone around them immediately busted out laughing. Danielle was then put through introductions, and she almost couldn't keep track of who was who. When everyone was full and in good spirits, Professor Dumbledore called for silence again. "Now that we are stuffed by that delectable feast, I'd like to make another announcement. As many of you may have noticed, this year Hogwarts will play host to the dementers of Azkaban. Now, as I myself have been assured, I assure you that these dementers will not interfere with our daily activities. However, I must strongly urge you to stay clear of them because it is not in the nature of a dementer to be forgiving. They will not distinguish between the one they are hunting, and the one that gets in their way. But you know, happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light...."

With that riddle in mind, they were all then dismissed to their houses. Danielle followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione up many flights of stairs to Gryffindor's common room. Harry sat in an armchair; Ron and Hermione plopped down on the couch, and Danielle sat on the floor leaning against the couch. They chatted amiably for a while until a boy she'd met at supper came towards them. Neville, she thought his name was.

"Danielle, Malfoy's outside the portrait and he says he wants to talk to you," he told her shyly.

Danielle shared a nervous look with Hermione before sighing and standing up. "Thanks, Neville," she answered before exiting the common room.

"What would Malfoy want with Danielle?" Ron and Hermione shrugged, and Harry didn't catch how Hermione nervously glanced at the portrait hole.

"Maybe we should be there; in case Malfoy tries to make trouble," Hermione suggested. Harry and Ron nodded and they made their way to the portrait hole. They held it open just enough so that they could hear the conversation without being seen.

Danielle and Malfoy were oblivious to their audience as they talked. "What do you want, Draco?" Danielle asked in a frustrated tone.

Malfoy ignored her and glared daggers at her for a moment. His eyes were full of malice and hate. "How could you be placed in Gryffindor House, cousin? You're a disgrace to our family," he hissed.

Danielle scoffed. "Our family? I'm not part of your family, remember? My mum was disowned from your family when she married my dad. I may be biologically related to you, but I am not your family!"

Malfoy strode up to Danielle and lashed out his anger. His fist connected with her face before she had time to register what he was doing. As Danielle fell to the ground, Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran through the portrait toward her. Harry helped her to her feet and inspected the bruise that was quickly forming under her eye while Ron and Hermione stepped in front of them and pointed their wands at Malfoy.

A muttered spell came from behind Ron and Hermione. The next thing Malfoy knew, he was tied up by invisible binds, and his wand was knocked from his hand. Danielle walked towards him with her wand raised at his head. "I'm glad I'm not part of your family. I hate living with you lot; you're nothing but a bunch of show ponies, but when you lay your slimy hands on me, you will suffer. Now you, being the drongo that you are, punched me, so you must really want to live in the hospital wing." she pressed her wand against his cheek to emphasize her point.

Harry placed a hand on her shoulder. "As much as we would love to see that happen to Malfoy, we don't want you expelled on your first day."

Danielle slowly lowered her wand, but the she suddenly shoved her knee into Malfoy's groin. As she lifted the binding spell, she watched in satisfaction as he sank to the floor groaning in pain. Danielle turned around and took a deep breath. She looked at the astonished faces of her three new friends and smiled. "I've been wanting to do that for months."

Ron and Hermione laughed loudly while Harry gave Danielle a wide grin. All four walked back into the common room, leaving a groaning Malfoy on the floor in pain. The smiles were gone when they sat back down by the fire. Harry and Ron were looking to her for answers; Hermione sat beside her, trying to offer some comfort. "I know that you want an explanation," Danielle started.

"You bet we do!" Ron practically yelled. "How are you in Gryffindor if you're a Malfoy?"

"Shush, Ronald," Hermione hissed. "Let her explain."

Ron huffed but stayed silent. Danielle sighed before continuing. "My mum was never like her brother, my uncle. Her parents always resented her being Gryffindor when for centuries, their family had always been in Slytherin. From the time she eleven, they'd always favored her brother, but Mum didn't care about that. She had my dad and the rest of her friends. In their seventh year, my dad asked my mum to marry him, and she said yes. When Voldemort came to power, they were part of the resistance against him. I think it was right after your parents were killed, Harry, that mine left with me to Australia. It was my home for nearly twelve years. I may be a Malfoy, but like my mother, I'm nothing like them."

Danielle didn't look any of them in eye, so Harry sat down in front of her to make her look at him. "I believe you; I knew the first time I met Malfoy that he was trouble, and you're definitely not like him."

Danielle smiled at him. "Thank you, Harry."

Harry smiled back at her; Hermione gave her a one-armed hug. "Well, I think it's time that all get to bed." The other three nodded and they all went of the staircases to their respective dormitories. As Hermione and Danielle got dressed for bed, there was one thing that was still bugging Danielle.

"Er-Hermione, there's one more thing I need to tell you..."

Hermione sat on her bed and looked at Danielle. "Sure, what is it?"

Danielle sat beside her, closed the bed curtains, and performed a silencing charm so that the other girls wouldn't hear them talking. "I told that my parents died while we were camping," Hermione nodded. "That's not really true..."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

Danielle sighed shakily. "I told you that my parents fled to Australia after Voldemort killed Harry's parents. I never really knew why they fled, and I didn't know it was because of Voldemort. This summer, he found us; I don't know how. My parents only told two people where they were going, and one of them is dead." Tears bagan to form in Danielle's eyes. "It was June, and we'd actually just got done flying through the bushes. We never had to worry about people seeing us fly because we lived in a rural area. Voldemort and others--I'm sure who they were--broke into our house. He used the Killing Curse on them while I hid in the closet like they told me to. I guess I screamed a little too loud," this was said, dripping with sarcasm, "because he found me next."

The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks as she stared blankly at Hermione's blanket. "These scars aren't from dingos, Hermione. I don't know what spell Voldemort used, but it did all this." Danielle showed Hermione her scars on her arms and legs."

Hermione stared at her as she cried silently. "You lied to me..."

"I know, Hermione, and I'm sorry, but I didn't think you would believe me. I didn't think anyone would," Danielle said vehemently. Hermione said nothing, so Danielle lifted the silencing charm. "I truly hope you can forgive me, you're the first friend I made here," she said before returning to her own bed. That night was met with a fitful night of sleep. Danielle didn't know what would happen between her and Hermione after this night, but she really hoped that everything would be alright.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I know I haven't updated in a while, but these summer english assignments are killing me! lol well enjoy.


	3. Chapter 3

It took a little while for Danielle to adjust to her new lifestyle. The time difference alone was enough to throw her off for a week. Hermione forgave her for not tell her the truth about her parents' death, and they began talking again. Danielle promised Hermione that she would tell Harry and Ron but not just yet. Her classes were going well, but she still wasn't getting as much sleep as she would have liked. She kept having nightmares that had her waking up in the middle of the night, trying not to cry out.

It was close to her birthday in mid-October that she had a dream that was more real than any she'd ever had. When she woke, her skin was covered in a thin sheet of sweat, and her breath was coming in shallow gasps. As much as she tried afterward, there was no getting back to sleep that night. She finally gave up and quietly made her way downstairs to the common room. After about five minutes by the fire, she heard someone coming the boys' stairs. Danielle watched as Harry's figure descended the stairs and entered the common room. He hesitated when he saw her on the couch but came towards her anyway. Danielle scooted over as he sat down.

"You couldn't sleep either, huh?" he asked plopping down next to her.

She shook her head, "No, I-I had a bad dream," she answered quietly.

Harry nodded in interest. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Danielle smiled sadly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you..."

Harry rubbed her arm comfortingly. "Try me..."

Danielle looked in his eyes and sighed. He was genuinely concerned about her, and she was lying to him about an event of utter importance in her life. "Harry..." she half sighed. "There's something I need to tell you," she said timidly, looking at her suddenly interesting toes.

Harry placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. "You can tell me anything..."

Danielle then told Harry the truth about her parents death. Every detail that she could remember about that night she told him all of it. She had absolutely no doubt that she could trust Harry, but she wanted to show that he could trust her as well. At first she'd been ashamed of what Voldemort did to her, so she lied about what really happened, but now she realized that she had nothing to be ashamed of. "I know I lied to you, Harry," she said as she finished, "and I am so sorry. I didn't think anyone would believe me, and they would think I was just looking for attention," Danielle broke down into quiet sobs.

She expected him to yell at her, to tell her to get out of his face. Harry probably had enough people lying to him before her, so why would he want another liar around him? She expected him to say that she was just like her cousin and that she belonged in Slytherin. Danielle expected Harry to do all these things and more, but she never expected him to do what he did next.

He took her into his arms and let her cry on his shoulder. He never said a word; he just rubbed soothing circles on her back and let her cry. "You're not mad at me?" she asked incredulously as she pulled away from him.

Harry smiled softly and shook his head. "No, I'm not. It's almost a relief because you understand, and I've never really had someone close to me that understands what I've been through and what I'm probably going to go through in the future." He gently wiped the tears away from her face. "Wait here; I've got something that will help."

Danielle watched him as he walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. It wasn't even two minutes before he was back down with two bottles. He silently opened one and handed it to her before opening his own. Danielle looked at the drink and then turned back to Harry. "What is it?"

Harry looked at her incredulously. "You've never had a butterbeer?" Danielle shook her head. "Wow, you have been deprived. Just try it..."

He chuckled as she cautiously took a sip of the drink. She tipped the bottle up further when she tasted the delicious amber liquid. "Wow, that's great!" she exclaimed quietly.

Harry chuckled again and sipped his own butterbeer. They sat in comfortable silence for a good while before Danielle sighed. Harry looked at her from the side. "You know, I don't get you," Danielle looked at him quizzically. "Every time I see you, you're smiling. Tonight is the only time I've seen you break down. It's just that your parents died only a few months ago. I always knew that my parents were dead, but when I learned the truth about how, I was depressed. I had to fake smiles all the time and act like I was happy when I wasn't. Things got better when I met Ron and Hermione, but I still had to fake it most of the time. I'm just wondering how you do it..."

Danielle stared at the fire absently. "My parents never really left me. D'you remember that day on the train?" Even without looking she knew that he was nodding. "While I was passed out, I saw my parents. I don't even know if it was real, but they said that they were happy to die for me and that they'd do it again if they could. They said they'd always be with me. Even if it wasn't real, I know they're right. Besides, every friend I make now becomes part of my Hogwarts family. So, really, my parents never left me alone."

Harry sat there soaking in every word Danielle was saying. He had never thought of it that way. He did sort of have a family here at Hogwarts. All the friends that had his back the past few two years. All the teachers who had helped him along the way. Even some of the ghosts.

"Say, Harry," Danielle's voice pulled him from his thoughts, "what's your favorite thing about this place?"

"Quiditch," he answered almost immediately. "It's kind of funny because I'd never even heard of it before my first year, but it's got to be one of the best things that ever happened to me."

Danielle smiled at his answer. "I feel the same way. Flying in general has always been my escape. Up in the air, nothing bad can happen. No one can touch me; no one can hurt me. When I fly, I feel safe, and I feel free. And with Quiditch it's like my team and I have to protect that freedom. That's why I became a Keeper. It's a silly way of thinking, I guess."

"No, I get it. It's a great way to think about it actually," Harry smiled at her. He decided he'd like to get to know more about her. "Where do you go when you want to get away from everything?" he asked after a moments pause.

"The pitch," she answered with an absent look in her eye. "When I want to be alone, I'll fly up to the highest post and just lounge in the ring; I mean it certainly is large enough. It's usually not a place many people would think to go looking for someone. Where do you go?"

Harry thought for a moment. "The Astronomy Tower, I guess. I guess being able to see the endless sky helps my mind wander to the things I need to think about. I never thought about going to the pitch though," he ended thoughtfully.

Danielle smiled brightly at him. "You'll find that I see things differently than most people."

Harry chuckled, and she smiled even brighter. They spent the next few hours telling each other everything about their first two years of school. Their likes and dislikes, their favorite everything, all of this was told. Harry filled in the blanks about his first and second year that Hermione left out. Danielle told him about her first two years even though they weren't as exciting as his. She told him about her summer lessons as well. The memories of her time with her parents brought tears to her eyes, and he helped her by pulling her into a comforting hug. She gave him a sheepish smile when she finally pulled away.

They fell asleep on the couch for a few hours before the early risers walking through the common room woke Danielle. She hadn't realized she had been resting her head on Harry's shoulder. As she sat up, she noticed something around her resisting her movement. When she looked down, she saw Harry's arm wrapped loosely around her waist. She realized how this could look to other people and decided she needed to wake him.

"Harry..." she prodded gently shaking his shoulder, "Harry, it's time to wake up."

"'S too early," he mumbled.

Danielle giggled softly. "Harry, it's nearly eight o'clock. Come on, get up Harry." All Harry did was groan and shake his head. Danielle heaved a sigh. She waited a couple of seconds before gasping dramatically. "Harry, they've cancelled Quiditch this year!" she exclaimed.

That got him up. "What?!" he shouted as he shot off the couch. "How could they do that? It's not -" Harry was interrupted when she began laughing loudly. It took him a moment to realize why. "That was cold, Danielle."

Said witch was laughing her heart out. "You should've seen your face!" she gasped through giggles.

"Oh, you're gonna get it!" Harry exclaimed as he pounced and began tickling Danielle's ribcage. She laughed and struggled to get out of his grasp. Harry found himself laughing along with her. "Give up yet?"

Giggling and breathing heavily, Danielle managed to stammer out a yes. When he released her, she leaned against the arm of the couch as she tried to catch her breath. Harry just watched, amused, as she corrected her disheveled state. "We should... we should go get dressed and head to the Great Hall for breakfast," she stammered out, still breathing hard.

"Okay, I'll meet you down in the Great Hall," Harry said with a triumphant grin on his face.

Danielle practically sprinted up to the girls' dormitory. After closing the door, she leaned against it and heaved a heavy sigh as she tried to slow her speeding heart. Why had Harry affected her so? That had never happened when she wa with any other guy friend; so why Harry?

She pushed aside those questions for the moment and began getting dressed. As she entered the Great Hall, she saw Hermione watch disgustedly as Ron piled his plate with various foods, and she saw Harry drizzling strawberry syrup on a semi-large stack of pancakes. "I thought you said you didn't like strawberry pancakes," Danielle said as she stole a bite.

Harry smiled at her. "Well, I've decided not to judge things I've never tried. Want to share?" he offered as he slide the plate closer to her.

"Of course I do. You know it's my favorite," Danielle reminded, smiling back at him. She watched as he took a cautious bite ans saw him smile as he seemed to like it. Danielle laughed lightly. "It's good, huh?"

He gave her a fulll mouth grin, and they both tucked into the rest of the pancakes. "How do you feel about Hogwarts so far, Danielle?" Hermione asked at one point.

Danielle smiled brightly. "A little intimidated actually. This place is so huge. I'm lucky all my classes are with you, Hermione, or else I would be so lost," she said chuckling. As she took another bite, a glob of syrup smeared on the side of her mouth. Harry gently brushed his thumb across her lips and pulled back to show her the syrup. Her eyes showed her surprised and a silent gasp went through her as she watched him bring his thumb to his lips. Their exchange went unnoticed to everyone but one; Hermione. "Thanks, Harry. That would've been embarrassing to walk around all day like that," she tried to sound nonchalant, but the soft blush that graced her cheeks did not go unnoticed.

As silence came over them, they didn't look away from each other until Hermione groaned. "On no, I left my Ancient Runes book in the dormitory," she nudged Danielle's left foot. "Will you go with me to get it?"

"Yeah, sure let's go. I've got to get my bag anyway," Danielle said immediately. They casually walked out of the Great Hall, but once the doors were closed, Danielle collapsed on the stairs, and a grin plastered itself on Hermione's face.

"What just happened?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"I don't know. I swear I could hardly breathe when he did that," Danielle took a shaky breath.

Hermione sat beside her and gently rubbed her back. "I saw you two on the couch this morning," she saw Danielle's eyes widen but continued. "Actually it looked like you had been crying. Was something wrong?"

"I'd had a nightmare, so I went down to the common room to calm down," she saw Hermione about to ask about her nightmare but cut her off. "Harry found me, and we ended up talking for hours before we fell asleep."

"What did you talk about?"

"Everything. We told each other everything; our favorite things, our first two years of school, our lives outside of school; everything. I finally told him the truth about my parents. I couldn't believe that he wasn't mad at me for lying to him," Danielle finished with a distant look. They began walking up to the common room. Danielle really had needed to get her satchel from the dormitory.

"Harry needs someone who understands what he's going through. Ronald and I try but it's just not the same. He may not know it, but he needs you because you are the only one he can go to about his problems who won't really over react," Hermione explained as they walked up to the common room.

When Danielle came back down from the dormitory, she looked at Hermione and smirked. "So, do you want to go to Herbology first or Care of Magical Creatures?"

Hermione pretended to be thinking. "How about both?"

Danielle gasped dramatically. "But, Hermione, how can we be in two places at once?"

Both girls guffawed at their inside joke. They chatted animatedly, their serious conversation all but forgotten, as they went to meet Harry and Ron. They all walked outside together, but Hermione stopped by the Herbology class. "I have to talk to Professor Sprout," she gave Danielle a knowing look and received a slight nod. "I'll meet you guys down there."

As Ron, Harry, and Danielle walked down to Hagrid's hut, Danielle was excited to meet the man Harry had told her so much about. She thought of all the amazing creatures they would be learning about. Her thoughts were interrupted by Ron's complaining. "She's mental! If I have to hear her say how doomed our futures are one more time, I'm gonna hex her to Hogsmeade and back."

"Who?" Danielle whispered to Harry.

"Professor Trelawney," Harry whispered back.

"Oh, honestly, Ron. What did you expect?" she exclaimed. "If you ask me, Divinations is a woolly discipline."

"Now, Ancient Runes; that's a fascinating subject," the boys jumped at Hermione's voice behind them.

"Absolutely," Danielle agreed.

"Ancient Runes?" Ron repeated. "Exactly how many classes are you two taking this term?"

"A fair few," they answered simultaneously.

"Hold on," Ron stopped to ponder for a moment, "Ancient Runes is at the same time as Divinations. You'd have to be in two places at once."

Hermione immediately reprimanded him. "Don't be silly, Ron. How could anyone be in two places at once?"

Danielle giggled. "'Use your inner eye so you can see the future!'" she quoted their Divinations professor.

Everyone but Ron laughed hysterically as they came to Hagrid's hut. After he settled the class down, he told everyone that he had a great lesson for them. Danielle eagerly followed him into a shallow part of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid instructed everyone to open their books to page forty-nine to which almost everyone responded with confusion. It seemed that only Danielle and Hermione knew how to open the book without being maimed. "Exactly how do we do that?" Malfoy asked sneering. There were a few mutters asking the same thing.

Hagrid told him to stroke the spine as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Unfortunately, Neville had already taken the initiative to unbuckle the leather strap keeping the book closed. As he tried to open it, the jaws of the monster book nearly snapped shut on his hand. Danielle immediately went to help stop the book from hurting him. After making sure he was okay, she took her place in between Harry and Hermione. Hagrid then cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's attention to reveal today's lesson. A half horse/half eagle was standing not too far from Hagrid.

"Er...Hagrid," Ron asked hesitantly, "what exactly is that?"

"It's a hippogriff," Danielle said in awe of the magnificent creature.

"Very good, Danielle," Hagrid said smiling, "ten points ta Gryffindor." Danielle smiled as Hagrid continued. "Now somethin' ya need ta know 'bout hippogriffs is tha' they're very proud creatures. You do not wan' ta insult a hippogriff. It may jus' be the las' thing you do," he warned. "Now, who'd like ta come say 'ello?"

Everyone stepped back except Harry and Danielle, unbeknownst to them. Hagrid smiled and told them they could both try. They cautiously walked toward the hippogriff and stopped beside Hagrid.

"Now, 'Arry, you give him a nice bow, and Danielle, you curtsy," Hagrid instructed.

"What's his name, Hagrid?" Danielle asked as she curtsied low and bowed her head.

"Buckbeak," Hagrid answered softly.

Said creature chose that moment to rear up on his hind legs briefly and snap at them. Danielle was afraid, but she stood her ground as she curtsied lower. Buckbeak studied them for a moment more before finally bowing his head. The two teens sighed in relief and heard applause from the Gryffindors as they straightened themselves.

"Well done you two. Now, ya can go and pet him," Harry and Danielle looked at him with scared expressions. "Go on," Hagrid encouraged them.

Inch by inch, they slowly made their way to Buckbeak with an arm outstretched. The creature looked at their hands hesitantly and sniffed the air around them. Sensing no danger to himself, he slowly walked towards the two teens. He softly clicked his beak one last time before allowing them to touch him. Danielle ran her fingers through the soft feathers on Buckbeak's gave and smiled when she heard him trill softly. She looked over to Harry to see him smiling at her.

Hermione stared in wonder at her best friend. Harry was smiling; really smiling. He hadn't smiled like that since their first year. She'd seen a change in him since he met Danielle; she sometimes found him staring at the young witch, and he just seemed generally happier. She watched as that genuine smile was replaced by a frightened frown when Hagrid told them that Buckbeak _may _let them ride him. He picked up Danielle first and set her right behind Buckbeak's wings, then he placed Harry right behind her.

"Jus' don' pull out any of 'is feathers 'cause he won' thank ya fer tha'," Hagrid slapped Buckbeak's rear end and the creature sped towards the short brick wall that surrounded the clearing before leaping over it into the air.

Danielle heard Harry yell in excitement behind her and looked back to see him grinning at her. She smiled back at him as she felt his arms snake around her waist. Sighing contently, she closed her eyes and leaned back against Harry's chest. What felt like a blissful eternity only lasted a few seconds until Harry told her to open her eyes. They were flying low over the Black Lake and could the castle was only a short distance away.

"It's beautiful," Danielle whispered.

"Yeah, it is," Harry whispered back in her ear. It sent shivers down her spine.

Buckbeak, being the playful creature that he was, chose that moment to dip his wing into the cold lake water and thoroughly splash the two teens astride him. They screamed and laughed as Buckbeak squawked happily and made his way back to the clearing where the class was gathered. When they landed, there was thunderous applause from Hagrid and the Gryffindors. Harry slid off of Buckbeak first and turned back to help Danielle.

Hargrid the came up to them grinning widely. "How'm I doin' me firs' day?" he asked hesitantly.

Both teens smiled brightly at him. "Brilliant, Professor," Harry said and, they watched as Hagrid's smile got wider.

The three of them whirled around when they heard Malfoy shoving his way through the crowd towards Buckbeak. "Yeah, so you're not dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute?"

Buckbeak screeched loudly at the foolish boy and reared back on his hind legs. As he lashed out his front talons, Danielle rushed to push Malfoy out of the way. She knew that if he got hurt, his father would want Buckbeak killed. Danielle had just reached him when Buckbeak's talons tore through their sleeves and shallowly slashed their arms. Not meaning to harm his new companion, the hippogriff immediately backed away.

Ignoring the pain in her own arm, Danielle used a simple healing charm that her mother had taught her on Malfoy's arm. He was still rolling around clutching his arm, and Danielle found it funny for him to be crying over an injury that wasn't there anymore. "Oh, get up, you great buffoon!" she exclaimed as she discreetly muttered the same healing charm she used on Malfoy on her own arm. "He didn't even scratch you!"

Malfoy scrambled to his feet and stared, amazed, at his now uninjured arm. Growing angry, he spun around to face Hagrid. "My father will hear about this!" he spat at him. "That beast of yours could have killed me!"

"Well maybe if you would listen for once in your life, this wouldn't have happened." Danielle spat right back at Malfoy. "Besides, Buckbeak didn't even touch you, so he can't kill you if he never touched you."

With that being said, she walked over to the distressed hippogriff and pulled up her sleeve, showing him that he hadn't hurt her. Buckbeak sniffed her arm carefully and then began nuzzling it, clearly glad that he hadn't hurt her. In return, Danielle ran her fingers through the soft feathers on his face. Harry walked up to her and leaned down close to her ear. "You might want to hide the blood on your sleeve, Dani."


	4. Chapter 4

Danielle gasped and looked down at her arm. Sure enough, there were a few small blood stains from her cut she had just healed. _Hm, I guess I didn't heal it fast enough._ she thought as she repaired the sleeve of her robe.

"'Kay you lot, tha's all for today. Class dismissed," Hagrid announced.

"Shoot, I've got to hurry," Danielle murmured as she hurried to grab her satchel. "I promised Professor Sprout I'd got to her right after class was over," she explained to Harry as she rushed to gather her things.

Said boy looked at his watch and then back at her. "Well, you have about five minutes before the classes are suppose to get out, so if you hurry, you can make it there just as they get out of class."

"Thanks," she whispered as she gave him a quick hug and told him she'd see him later before hurrying up the narrow path toward the Herbology greenhouse. Harry was right; she got there just as the first person, Hermione, began walking out of class. Hermione gasped silently when she saw Danielle before smiling and saying something to the person behind her. Danielle was able to catch the phrase 'can't get used to seeing you' before she turned her Time Turner back a half turn.

When she looked up again, she saw the backs of her three friends and herself as they walked down to Hagrid's hut. She smiled and casually walked into the greenhouse and stood beside Hermione. Said witch looked at Danielle and at the smile on her face. "Someone looks please with herself," she stated smiling. Danielle nodded but didn't say anything. "Care to elaborate?"

Danielle shook her head, still smiling. "You'll find out soon."

The class sped by as they reviewed for a quiz at the end of the week. A loud bell toll signaled the end of class, and Danielle and Hermione gathered their things to leave. As Hermione walked out first, she paused for half a second. Nearly bumping into her, Danielle asked her if anything was wrong.

Hermione smiled shaking her head and looked back at her. "I swear; I can't get used o seeing you twice at the same time."

Danielle smiled at the deja vu. "Somehow I knew you'd say something like that," both girls giggled at the comment. "You'd better get going; we'll be back up from Hagrid's any minute."

Hermione took a quick glance at the path to Hagrid's hut. "Yes, I guess you're right. I'll see you in Potions then."

"See you at Hagrid's" Danielle said with a smirk. She watched as Hermione disappeared and then waited for her friends to make their way back up from Hagrid's. In Potions, Snape had them creating a shrinking potion with partners. Ron and she worked diligently, or rather Danielle did. Ron worked very sloppily and often stopped to talk to Seamus. Danielle had to redo all of his work before putting it into the potion, all the while reprimanding him. "Look, Ron, all of these things have to be done precisely; otherwise, the potion won't be right."

Ron just rolled his eyes and turned to talk to Seamus while they let their potion simmer. When it turned a lime green color, Danielle ladled some of it into a small vile and set it on Professor Snape's desk. She contemplated leaving off his name, but she discarded that thought eventually. To make the class worse, Hermione lost Gryffindor points just because she was trying to help Neville even though he wasn't her partner. Danielle was glad to get out of there when the bell rang. She made sure to stay far away from Ron as they walked up from the dungeons. She didn't make it very far before realizing she'd left her book in the classroom.

When she got back down to the Potions room, her book wasn't on the table. She was beginning to search for it when a voice behind her grabbed her attention. "Your book is on my desk Miss Clayton," Professor Snape said as he came into view.

"Sorry, sir; it won't happen again," Danielle responded, half-heartedly respectful.

"See that it doesn't, Miss Clayton. Next time I will take points," Snape warned.

"Yes, sir," she answered politely before leaving. She couldn't understand, from what Harry told her about him, why he hadn't taken points in the first place. She didn't let her mind linger on this though as she hurried up the stairs again to catch up with her friends. When she got within earshot of them, she heard Ron complaining about her. She kept back to where they couldn't see her and listened in on their conversation.

"I mean she's horrible, honestly. Why are you guys even friends with her?" he complained loudly. "'Look, Ron, you have to cut everything precisely or else I'm gonna have a fit until I decide to do it all myself.' Honestly, she's a nightmare."

_His impression of me is horrible,_she thought. But as she watched Harry and Hermione look at each other smiling, her breath caught. They were smiling; they were laughing. Did they really think that of her? She didn't want to listen anymore, but the more she caught up to them, the more she was able to hear.

"And did you see the way she jumped to save Malfoy? Ya know, You-Know-Who should have gone after her instead of you, Harry," he finished finally.

That last comment made her stop short. He had overdone it. She knew she could be a bit overbearing sometimes, but she wasn't that bad, was she? What really struck home was that he was so close to saying what actually happened, and he didn't even know it. She had to get out of there, but she wanted a little payback first. Danielle quietly muttered an _Accio_ for her Nimbus 2001; she knew this would only give her a few moments to get her payback before it got to her.

Aiming her wand directly at Ron, she silently murmured an incantation. The next thing he knew, an invisible hand was holding him upside down by his ankle. "So, You think Voldemort should have killed me, Ronald?" she asked rhetorically. Before he could say anything, she quickly put a silencing charm on him. "You know, maybe you're right. I mean I was the best student at my last school, and yet I was powerless to save my parents. So maybe you're right, Ronald. Where do you think I can find him to relay your message?" she asked sarcastically.

When she turned to Harry, tears formed in her eyes. "I thought you, of all people, would understand, Harry, but here you are laughing at his little joke," she whispered; her words were laced with feelings of betrayal and her voice shook, "so I guess I was wrong."

By this time her broom had gotten to her, and she flew off towards the pitch after making sure she let Ron down. When she was out of sight, Harry and Hermione rounded on Ron. "You idiot, Ronald!" Hermione screeched. "How could you say something like that?!"

"You don't even know anything about her. You have no idea what she's been through!" Harry thundered. "What do you do during your summer holidays, Ron?" he asked, deadly quiet. "Play quiditch, test your brothers' jokes, get rid of gnomes? Do you know what Danielle did until now? No, you don't because you never bothered to get to know her.

"Well I'll tell you. She would get up every morning at seven, and her parents would teach her magic until eight in the evening. She worked harder in the summer than you or I ever would combined. Now they're gone, and she has to live with the Malfoys. It wasn't dingos that killed her parents and gave her those scars. It was Voldemort. He tracked them down and eliminated them, leaving Danielle an orphan. Danielle's gone through hell, and yet she doesn't let it get to her. No, she's stronger than that. She's kind, smart, and independent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find her before she gets into trouble and our friendship is ruined because of you." With that said, Harry sprinted towards Gryffindor Tower to get his broom. Hermione wasn't through with Ron just yet.

"How could you say something like that about her, Ronald?" she asked softly. "All she ever did was try to be your friend and help. She saved your life, and you repay her by saying You-Know-Who should've killed her?" She undid Danielle's silencing charm and stood with her arms crossed. "So you need to explain just what the bloody hell you were thinking?"

Ron stayed silent for a while. "Did You-Know-Who really kill her parents?"

Hermione nodded silently. "She was trying to find the right time to tell you, but I guess Harry just let it slip."

"You're right," he muttered. "I was wrong to say that, but why did you and Harry laugh?"

Hermione laughed in an exasperated manner. "We weren't agreeing with you though. We were laughing because you called me a nightmare and horrible and all the other things in our first year. Now look where we are?"

Ron hung his head. You're right, Hermione," he repeated, "and I'll tell her that tonight at supper."

The two of them quietly walked back to the common room to study. Before they got inside, they caught a glimpse of Harry flying out of Gryffindor Tower. He raced to the one place he knew she would go after something like that, the pitch. His seeker eyes spotted her in the highest goal at the far end of the pitch. He sped towards her and spoke before she could yell at him.

"Danielle, let me explain!" he shouted so she could hear him. She wouldn't look at him, but he saw her give the slightest of nods. "I'm sorry Hermione laughed at what Ron said, but we weren't laughing at what you thought we were. We were laughing because it was deja vu from when he called Hermione all those things in our first year. She did the same thing you did...sorta. You had a lot more flair," he was relieved to see a tiny smile appear on her face. "It's just ironic because now they're best friends."

He guided his broom closer to the ring and sat on the side opposite of Danielle. She still wouldn't look at him, but he could see the tracks of her tears on her cheeks. When she spoke, it was so soft he almost didn't hear it. "You know, I believe I said I come up here when I want to be alone," when Harry went to leave, Danielle grabbed his wrist to stop him, "but the thing is, I don't think I want to be alone anymore..."

After a moment, Harry grabbed the top of the ring and used it as a stabilizer as he hoisted her up into his arms. "You're never alone, remember? You have so many people here who love you already. Ginny worships you; Hermione is like a sister to you; Neville looks up to you," he whispered softly.

Danielle lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him. "And what about you?" she asked quietly.

Harry gazed into her shimmering hazel eyes. "I adore everything about you," he whispered. His gazed flicked down to her lips the quickly back up. Danielle found her own eyes doing the same thing. She then noticed that Harry was closer than he had been and was getting closer. They were mere centimeters apart when the school's loud bell made them jerk apart.

The scuff on the toe of her shoe suddenly became very interesting to her. _We nearly kissed!_ her mind screamed at her. If the bell hadn't rung, they would have. The strange thing, though, was that she didn't know if that was good or bad. "Er...we're going to be late for supper," she whispered softly.

Harry sighed dejectedly. "Yeah, Ron and Hermione will start to worry..."

Danielle heaved a sigh and looked back at him. "Erm...do you mind if we just use your broom? I already shrank mine."

Harry chuckled and nodded. Danielle mounted first and Harry right behind her. His arms automatically wrapped around her waist. As they sped towards the dormitories, Danielle was hyper aware of Harry's hands splayed across her stomach, his chin on her shoulder, and his breath on her neck. Between all that, trying to remember to breathe, and trying not to carsh into the side of the castle, it took all of her concentration to make it to the dormitories. The common room was empty when they flew through the window, and they rushed down to the Great Hall. Harry stopped her just before entering.

"Ron is probably going to try to start something when we get in there," he informed her. "Just don't let it get to you ok? He's just blowing off steam."

* * *

I know it's been a long time. haha sorry guys. been really busy with my anatomy and my trigg classes.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry and Danielle took opposite sides of the table with Danielle sitting beside Hermione and Harry beside Ron. Danielle went about her normal routine and began filling her plate. Ron's plate was surprisingly empty, and he was making no move to fill it up. In fact, he was not doing anything except staring down at his hands that were clasped on top of the table. Subtly, Hermione nudged him with her foot. Her looked at her and then at Danielle.

"I'm sorry Danielle. Harry's right; I never gave you a chance, and I never took the time to get to know you. He told me what really happened to your parents," Danielle glanced at Harry, and he gave her a sheepish smile to which she smiled back. "I was way out of line, and I'm sorry; really I am..." he started rambling, so Danielle reached across the table and touched his hand to make him stop.

When he looked up at her, she smiled at him. "It's alright, Ron. I forgive you."

Harry looked at their joined hands, and jealousy flooded through him. He couldn't understand it; Danielle wasn't his girl. Growing frustrated, he ate in silence and left as soon as he was finished.

Danielle was worried. Harry hadn't spoken at all since they walked into the Great Hall, and now he just stormed out. For a moment she thought maybe she had done something wrong, so she excused herself with the excuse of feeling ill and went to check on him. At first she thought he would be in the common room, but he wasn't there. Then she thought of what he had said the night before. Remembering that, she raced to the Astronomy Tower and arrived finding that she'd been right.

"So what is it that you needed think about bad enough to come up here?" Harry started at the sound of her voice.

"I don't honestly know," he sighed. "I guess that's what I'm trying to figure out."

Danielle sat down beside him and laid her head on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Harry?" she whispered. "You were awfully quiet at supper."

Harry leaned his head on hers and planted a chaste kiss in her hair. "I'm fine, Dani. I don't know what came over me – well I do, but I don't know why..."

Danielle's breath caught in her throat as she felt his lips against her head. "What was it?" she asked after regaining her composure.

Harry sighed. "I saw your hand and Ron's together - I dunno, I just got really angry. Plus, I was still angry about what happened earlier."

Harry had been jealous; Danielle could see that much. She couldn't, however, understand why he was still angry. "I don't understand; Ron apologized, and I forgave-"

"It wasn't Ron I was angry at..." he interrupted gently. "I should've stopped him before you caught up to us. Before he said that stuff about Voldemort..." he sighed. "I'm sorry, Dani. I never-"

"Hey," Danielle interrupted placing a hand on his cheek. Harry closed his eyes and leaned into her hand. "Hey look at me," she prodded gently running her fingers over his eyelids, and he did as she asked. "I don't blame you okay? All smiles again, see?"

With that she gave him a genuine smile, and it was infectious as he found himself doing the same. "Only you could be all smiles after something like this," Danielle chuckled and looked up to watch the stars. Harry tried to do the same but found his eyes wandering back to the young witch beside him. I'm sorry Dani; I never want to be the reason you cry again.

"I envy you Harry," Danielle said suddenly. Harry gave her a look of disbelief. "Really, I do. You're parents were killed when you were a baby, you grew up with emotionally abusive guardians, and on top of that you have a deranged lunatic bent on killing you. Nobody would blame you for growing up hating the world, yet here you are... pure, kind, the savior of the wizarding world. I don't think I could do that if I went through everything you did."

"I do," Harry said immediately. "You are the purest person I've ever met, and don't forget that Voldemort killed your parents too."

"Yes, but you've helped so many people and have dealt with this mass murderer twice already as a young boy. You are truly amazing, Harry."

Harry sighed and turned to face Danielle. "You don't think that you've helped anyone?" he didn't wait for her to answer. "What about the four people you saved on the train? You risked your own life to save them, and do you remember what you said when you woke up?" she shook her head. "You asked if everyone else was okay. You were lying on the floor, incredibly injured for all we knew, and yet you were more worried about the other people in the room."

Danielle didn't respond; instead, she snuggled close to Harry and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before Harry noticed her breathing had evened out and was snoring softly. Harry smiled and laid back to try to get into a more comfortable position without jostling Danielle too much. He looked over at her and saw her bite mark scar. Thinking about it made him angry. Why her? Why did this amazing girl have to have such a bad life? My life? He thought. Harry leaned towards her and placed a gentle kiss over the scar. Danielle stirred slightly but didn't wake.

Sighing, Harry cleared his mind and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he too was asleep.

* * *

I am so very sorry this took so long, and that this is such a short chapter. I promised you progress and this is all I have at the moment..


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